Thursday, 19 January 2012

Jacaranda tree in flower in Whakatāne, New Zealand: photo by Kahuroa, 12 December 2006

.........................................for Angelica

It's too late, and there are such greatObstacles, there were always great obstacles; At least they once seemed common, that was a relief,So long ago, in that other now barely remembered

Place; now so difficult to recall, in whichIt seemed we were somehow freeDeluded as we were by dreams, by foolishness, youth -- By the mysterious illusion of being permittedTo do as we wished and chose -- to look beyondOurselves, to see what there wasTo do, and to do it, or not, as the time arose;And then, done, or not done, equally, know

It would in any event soon be over; and thenWe would forget; the days would again begin,Pass gently by, and end; in the late lightWe could at last step back, draw a long deep breath,Take in the surroundings, enjoyThe wonders of the viewFrom beneath the pleasant, peaceful, shelteringLight-filtering violet shade of the lovely

The photos with this post are associated with the dedicatee, who grew up in New Zealand, whence her parents had emigrated, under duress of war, from Austria.

The "place" to which it refers is a small village in Northern California, a bucolic, ragged sort of little place at the time referenced here, now a resort enclave of the very rich... with a few surviving stragglers of the earlier, here remembered time.

A friend of this blog, Brad Johnson of Departure Delayed, reports trouble with the word verification device. (It's a silly bit of tech defense deployed here -- and at most other blogs -- solely to intercept spam; if anybody else is having problems with it, let me know and I'll cut the hose to its module.)

Here, anyway, for the record, is what Brad kindly said (8:21 PM, 1/19/12):

Hi Tom,

The word verification function on your blog was giving me all sorts of fits tonight, so I thought I'd just send you a quick email indicating my thoughts about your poem. I was esp. struck by the penultimate stanza because it brings such joy to the eye and ear: "It would in any event soon be over; and then / We would forget; the days would again begin, / Pass gently by, and end; in the late light / We could at last step back, take a long deep breath,"

Robb, excuse me if I've told you this before, but, we actually got married at St Marks Church, March 1968 -- a different geological epoch of course... but thanks for the memory, you've actually managed to bring me back into the church.

I've wondered a few times if you've been following the premier league this year, Tom. It's been one of the most exciting seasons (so far) in its relatively short history, albeit due in part to some very dodgy defending and I won't even start about the steady rise on rise of prima donnas hurling themselves expertly to the ground whenever anyone breezes by. Regarding Giggs, on the pitch at least, he continues to shine. And it's good to see the little ginger terrier back aswell. I've missed his late tackles and that arms raised innocent look :)